NARPACA and A Satisfying Cultural Experience

• We all add value to the arts in our own way

• The way we communicate our contribution to the arts often leaves a lasting impression

• Have you thought about what you contribute to the broader arts community?

• Have you thought about the lasting impression that you will leave?

• Are you a stress free stakeholder to all those who you have contact with?

NARPACA and A Satisfying Cultural Experience

• An outlook of touring, personal participation, audience engagement and lasting positive outcomes for arts events and cultural experiences

• There is much to learn before becoming successful at presenting and promoting our craft

• Whilst the themes of this presentation primarily focus on performing arts, the concepts can be applied across various art-forms

• Performance can be quite simple – A Performer in a Place with People

NARPACA

• Whilst your journey may be focused in a local area – on a different scale - the same concepts apply to an extensive national tour

• This leads to an introduction to Australia’s largest live touring circuit — NARPACA - Northern Australian Region Performing Arts Centres Assn

• NARPACA is a network of Northern Australian venues - that provides arts advocacy and development services to members and access to quality performing arts and events through information sharing, collaboration and communication

NARPACA - Membership• Over 30 major performing arts centres across QLD and the NT.

• Professionally managed venues from the Gold Coast to Mount Isa and from Cairns to Alice Springs

• Venues range in scale, structure and catchments from QPAC to Boonah Cultural Centre

• The age and style vary from the historic Empire Theatre to the recently opened Redlands Performing Arts Centre

• Individually, NARPACA members are the main presenters and advocates of cultural product within their region

• Largest presenter group of performing arts product in QLD and the NT

NARPACA Objectives and Strategies

NARPACA provides development services and professional opportunities for members of the association

Annual conferences for Venue Managers, Theatre Technicians, Box Office & Marketing

Venues work collaboratively to implement industry best practice for both commercial and community based users

A key objective is to foster and support the facilitation and delivery of performing arts product through our network

NARPACA VALUES

– Excellence in Venue Management

– Value for Members

– Arts Advocacy and Leadership

NARPACA Partnerships

• Strategic partnerships with a diverse group of key stakeholders

• Federal, QLD State and Local Governments of which may are the owners of regional performing arts centres

• A strong and strategic relationship with the Queensland Government and in particular Arts QLD

• Triennial Funding & Performance Agreement with Arts Queensland

• The partnership with AQ is an exciting move forward for venues, promoters, producers and performers

TOUR WITH NARPACA

• Each region has it’s own unique attributes and the team performing arts professionals

• The NARPACA website provides links to QLD and NT major performing arts centres - www.narpaca.com.au

• Contact the various professional staff

BENEFITS OF TOURING

• At the beginning of this presentation I raised the notion of your personal participation, audience engagement and lasting positive outcomes for arts events and cultural experiences

• Have you considered the benefit of touring your work and the value it creates?

• Each of us aspire for excellence in our individual art-form

• It may be to inspire, create, challenge, entertain or leave a lasting memory

POSITIONING A TOUR

There is a recognised demand for cultural experiences in regional centres

Consider how you will plan, price and position your product or performance

• Promoters must have faith in the product they are supporting• City officials look to rationalize their investments in cultural assets• Administrators crave to demonstrate how their work creates value

• Marketers need quality material to encourage support and participation• Box Office want your story to sell tickets• Technicians want the details• Funders strive to justify their investment

• Artists wonder about the consequences of their work

PLANNING A TOUR

• Engaging with a diverse range of industry colleagues – in different regions – with different views – and offering different services and support

• Is the venue appropriate for the performance, do you have agreements in place, technical specifications complete with equipment, staffing, access times, lighting plots, cues etc

• Planning, promotion, production, promoters, producers, publicity, performing arts centres, patrons and more………….

• Is you performance ready to tour with a commitment to all stakeholders?

• The list can be exhaustive however you do need a checklist

PROMOTING A TOUR

Importantly what about the Patrons

• What message are you sending? What genre is your performance, comedy, circus, drama, dance, music?

• Do you have a user friendly synopsis that tells the real story not just a creative piece of writing

• A suite of photos, images, logos, Bios, flyers, eflyers, bi lines, website, education kits, etc….

• Is your promotional material telling the right story?

• How long is the performance, is there an interval, merchandise, a meet & greet ?

THE PATRON EXPERIENCE

• The news experience!

• The box office experience!

• Phone a friend experience!

• The arrival experience!

• The performance experience!

• Post show revue!

• A lifetime experience!

CELEBRATING SUCCESS

• Consider how you may become a stress free resource that provides benefits to the arts community and how your craft may generate other “value opportunities”

• Engage in conversations about the benefits of your art as it could awaken creative potential in other people and create a demand for your services

• Similarly, funders may gain a better sense of how to provide support and further back the arts in order to create specific benefits

SPREADING VALUE

• Creatively spread the values and benefits of arts across communities and regions

• How you can become a stress free contributor?

Personal development

The “imprint” of an arts experience

Communal meaning and civic engagement

Economic and macro-social benefits

Human interaction

Benefits and Values

Inventive arts

Ambient arts

Observational arts

Interpretive arts

Curatorial arts

Personal development

The “imprint” of an arts experience

Communal meaning and civic engagement

Economic and macro-social benefits

Human interaction

Benefits and Values

Mental stimulationImaginativeInspiration

Empowered spiritEmotional reactionSensory pleasure

Mental stimulationImaginativeInspiration

Empowered spiritEmotional reactionSensory pleasure

Social contactShared memory

Communal values Sense of

belonging Cultural heritage

Social contactShared memory

Communal values Sense of

belonging Cultural heritage

Civic prideSocial capital

Harm avoidanceEconomic impact

ToleranceUnderstanding

Civic prideSocial capital

Harm avoidanceEconomic impact

ToleranceUnderstanding

Improved Social skills

Think criticallyCharacter

development Emotional maturity

Improved Social skills

Think criticallyCharacter

development Emotional maturity

Cultural Experience

Cultural Experience

Community

Ind

ivid

ua

l

Community engagement and stewardship

Health and Wellness

Mental stimulationImaginativeInspiration

Empowered spiritEmotional reactionSensory pleasure

Mental stimulationImaginativeInspiration

Empowered spiritEmotional reactionSensory pleasure

Social contactShared memory

Communal values Sense of

belonging Cultural heritage

Social contactShared memory

Communal values Sense of

belonging Cultural heritage

Civic prideSocial capital

Harm avoidanceEconomic impact

ToleranceUnderstanding

Civic prideSocial capital

Harm avoidanceEconomic impact

ToleranceUnderstanding

Improved Social skills

Think criticallyCharacter

development Emotional maturity

Improved Social skills

Think criticallyCharacter

development Emotional maturity

Cultural Experience

Cultural Experience

Larger social network

Expanded capacity for empathy

Community

Ind

ivid

ua

l

Community engagement and stewardship

Larger social network

Health and Wellness

Mental stimulationImaginativeInspiration

Empowered spiritEmotional reactionSensory pleasure

Mental stimulationImaginativeInspiration

Empowered spiritEmotional reactionSensory pleasure

Social contactShared memory

Communal values Sense of

belonging Cultural heritage

Social contactShared memory

Communal values Sense of

belonging Cultural heritage

Civic prideSocial capital

Harm avoidanceEconomic impact

ToleranceUnderstanding

Civic prideSocial capital

Harm avoidanceEconomic impact

ToleranceUnderstanding

Improved Social skills

Think criticallyCharacter

development Emotional maturity

Improved Social skills

Think criticallyCharacter

development Emotional maturity

More satisfying relationships

Family cohesion

Teamwork and skills

More satisfying relationships

Family cohesion

Teamwork and skills

Expanded capacity for empathy

Community

Ind

ivid

ua

l

THE END OF THIS TOUR

I hope that this presentation provides;

• Some assistance and insight into the touring opportunities with NARPACA

• Tips to plan, produce, price, position and promote product & performances with performing arts centres, promoters, producers, publicists and patrons

• A perspective of the need to network and plan

• Appreciation of the Arts Value Chain and the benefits that you create

In closing, NARPACA welcomes you to explore your touring opportunities and I wish you every success.